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Compost My Plate?

February 26, 2014

New waste bins and composting initiatives will begin this semester in Lower Wismer. The new waste bins have openings for compost, recycling and waste, but almost everything that you can buy is compostable. All the plates, forks, knives, spoons, food containers, sandwich wrappers, cold cups, hot cups, napkins…and yes, even the disintegrating paper straws, are compostable.

When you finish your meal, walk up to the bin, take a few seconds to check out the poster display, and make sure you put your waste in the appropriate container. To make it easy, Sodexo worked hard to make almost every Zack’s food container compostable. It is easy! Toss that food and food container right into the COMPOST. During the Recyclemania competition you may see students wearing UCGreen Team t-shirts at tables in Lower Wismer. If you have any questions about what item goes where, please ask them!

Items that can continue to go into the recycling include: cans, glass, plastic bottles, empty yogurt cups and the like. What about waste? Well, that’s for things like plastic wrappers.

Why should you care? We live on a planet that is a closed system. The trash we create impacts the quality of the air we breathe and our health. By composting everything you can, you are helping your soon-to-be alma mater lower its ecological footprint by creating higher-quality waste that can be used to grow healthier food. That means healthier food for you. This change was the result of research and work done by Dr. Leah Joseph’s waste class – “Talkin’ Trash“, the Office of Sustainability, and Sodexo. The bins were purchased by Facilities Services and the Office of Sustainability.